Gem Mining (collecting, buy, laws, best)

[Racelady88]

DH & I are planning a trip to do some gem mining in NC (also asked over there). Anyone have any stories/experience to share, good or bad?

[shadowwalker]

Any time you do something like this have two or three different sites lined up. I have drove several hundred miles to some spot and arrived to find a CLOSED sign on the gate/door for some reason. I usually had more choices so it wasn't a bust.

[kygman]

Have you been down to the diamond mines in Arkansas yet? We've talked about going sometime. Any diamond you find is yours.
Diamond Mines - Crater of Diamonds State Park

[Racelady88]

LOL! Have not been able to convince DH that we need to go to Arkansas. I would love to do crater of diamonds.

[Poltracker]

Originally Posted by Racelady88

LOL! Have not been able to convince DH that we need to go to Arkansas. I would love to do crater of diamonds.

The mines in N Carolina or the crystal mines in Arkansas are more fun IMO. They are certainly more productive.

[RockHoundFlorida]

Don't forget The Lost Mines of Atlantis when your in Florida, it's one of the best Mining Flumes in the country!

[poster]

It is a shame what liability laws have done to rock (and gem) collecting. Entrance into real, operating mines is almost impossible now days - most lands are strictly "private property". I used to go to the Crabtree emerald mine up in Mitchell county and work the dumps (and on slow days get invited to go down into the mine) - also there were always several digs that local guides knew about where you could un-earth aquamarines, garnets and kyanites. Now it is just roadside operations that sell buckets of material to sift through.

The ruby "mines" down at Franklin are ok ... not exactly mines but just businesses that sell you dirt by the bucket to rinse and see what you can find - you can usually buy both salted and un-salted buckets. The "salted" buckets can have either local material added or imported stuff added to assure that you find a "gem" in every bucket.

The area around Hiddenite is ok as well - lots of real digging to be done and you can find things if you are lucky.

[Poltracker]

Originally Posted by poster

It is a shame what liability laws have done to rock (and gem) collecting. Entrance into real, operating mines is almost impossible now days - most lands are strictly "private property". I used to go to the Crabtree emerald mine up in Mitchell county and work the dumps (and on slow days get invited to go down into the mine) - also there were always several digs that local guides knew about where you could un-earth aquamarines, garnets and kyanites. Now it is just roadside operations that sell buckets of material to sift through.

The ruby "mines" down at Franklin are ok ... not exactly mines but just businesses that sell you dirt by the bucket to rinse and see what you can find - you can usually buy both salted and un-salted buckets. The "salted" buckets can have either local material added or imported stuff added to assure that you find a "gem" in every bucket.

The area around Hiddenite is ok as well - lots of real digging to be done and you can find things if you are lucky.

Know what you mean. The new federal laws on collecting rocks and fossils are horrible too. Had a group of friends that accidently wandered onto Fed land from private (lloking for pet wood) and the game wardens took everything (more like dumped it out on the side of the road), gave them tickets and warned them that they could take their vehicles too. Must be very careful now.